선구자 나폴레옹, 맞아???
미국의 풋볼mvp하워드그에게 아무 관계도 없는 우린 열광했었다. 다만 한국계 혼혈아로
질시냉대무시의 사회시선을 묵묵히 견뎌내며 성공한 한국인이 었기에 그의 존재도 모르고
살아온 한국인 우리들이 마치 무슨 엄청난 관심이나 물질적 정신적 지원이나 한 것처럼
반도강산이 하워드의 열기로 뒤덮혔던 때가 있었다. 사촌이 밭을 살 때 배가 아픈 한 그
곳엔 발전이 없다. 사촌이 땅을 살 때 칭찬과과 축하가 감사가 있는 그 곳엔 무수한 동기
유발과 긍정적인 의식이 팽배해 넘치고 있다. 잘된 사람을 부러워만 말고 마음 깊은 곳으로
부터 찬사칭찬축하감사를 전할때 표할때 자신에게도 엄청난 긍정의힘과 창조의힘과달성의식이
생성되어 진다. 우리 주변에는 혼혈아 그 이상으로 비참한 여건환경에 철저한 냉대왕따무시
하대 받는 한 그룹이 있으니 바로 장애자 계층이다. 국가기관마져도 법으로 정해논 채용규정을
애쓰 외면하고 채용을 않고 있다. 미국의 대통령 차와 장애자의 차가 길에서 마주치면 장애자의
차가 우선이라고 하더라. 지 돈 주는 것도 아니고 장애자가 지 밥 달라는 것도 아닌 데 왜들
그러는지 모르겠다. 우리네 환경에선 아직도 본적이 없는 선천적 사지절단 장애인이 미국
풋볼 선수가 되었고 학교의 레스링 선수로 상위의 기록을 보유하고 있다고 한다. 그는 말한다.
"한계와제한은 상상생각사고 속에만 있다"라고. 학교에서 풋볼 선수 선발 테스트를할 때 그는
휠체어를타고 체력시험 -40야드 달리기- 장으로 갔다. 워낙에 많은 인파가 몰렸기에 출발선이
이동을하면서 참가자들이 자기앞에 올 때 출발 했었다. 출발선이 선천적 사지절단 학생 카일
메이나드앞으로 이동 되어왔을 때 그는 휠체어에서 뛰어 내려 짐승처럼 네발로 네손으로 기어
달려야만 했었다. 네발로 기는 짐승처럼.피터지도록그렇게 기었다. 기기를 마쳤을때 주코치가
다가와 "자네를 선수로 선발한다. 나는 다만 군의능력만을 보았을 뿐이다." 오늘이 시간도
멀쩡히 되는 일을 가지고 공연히 안되는 쪽으로 생각상상하고 불가능한 면을 먼저 바라보면서
자신의 능력을 제한하고 자신의 한계를 스스로 확정하면서 지리한장마를 한탄하시지는
않으신지요. 선천적 사지절단이란 팔의 팔꿈아래와 다리의 무릎 아래가아예 없이 태어난 사람
입니다. 길거리에 나서기도 챙피하고 불안하고 두렵고 겁나고 떨릴터인 데도어른어린얘 남자
여자 만인 다 보는 앞에서 개처럼 짐승처럼 피가나도록 옷이 벗어지도록처절하게기었다구요.
상상이 되시나요. 멀쩡하잖아요 건강하잖아요 잘 생겼잖아요. 내 사전에 불가능은없다던 짧은
키 뚱보 나폴레옹 그의 불가능은머리에나 상상에 있지 않았을까요. "내 머리에불가능은 없다.
내 상상생각에 불가능은 없다." 상상력은 동기유발성공의 제일요소. 그상상에불가능이 존재
하는 한 내 삶은 사과와 용서와 변명 뿐일 것이다. 선천적 사지절단 장애자풋볼 선수는
"내게문재는전혀 결코 없었다. 다만 내 부정적인 생각상상사고 외에는"고
그의 저서"NO EXCUSES"에서 우리 모두에게 애타게 전하고 있다.
아인슈타인이 공부한 학교는 페스탈로치 추종자들이 만든 스의스 아라우칸의 칸톤 학교로,
아인슈타인의지적 개발중심은 그 학교의 교육이념에 기인했다고 한다. 페스탈로치의 심상개발,
시각적사고,상상적 이미지화가 그의 창의적 사고방식의 기초와 본질이 됐다고한다. 상상력과
이미지화는 두뇌를 자극하여활동케 한다. 창의력 상상력은 기존의 이미지, 과거의 아이디어,
이어져오는 모든 연결과의단절을 의미 한다.관습인습도덕상식윤리지식 이런 모든
제한성 한계한계적 제한으로 부터의 거대 엑소드스다.
'The Only Limit Was My Imagination'
Born without developed arms and legs, Kyle Maynard was determined not to let his disability get in the way of playing sports.
By Kyle Maynard
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| Photo courtesy of Kyle Maynard |
At home I dreamed about being a professional athlete and playing on one of my favorite Atlanta sports teams. My dreams made me the star athlete who performed coolly under pressure; I’d imagine replacing John Smoltz as the clutch pitcher on the mound for the Atlanta Braves in the middle of their pennant race.
In my dreams, the only limitation was my imagination?the real world was different. I never thought the dream world, where I was the star, would be any different from the real world. In my mind’s eye, the only difference was that now I’d be playing for real.
The more stories I heard about how much fun my friends were having, the more I wanted to play alongside them. My passion for sports and my drive to succeed were enough, I told myself?I would stop at nothing in my pursuit to be a normal fifth-grade student and a great competitor.
More than anything else, I wanted to be the quarterback who dated the cutest cheerleader and became an icon among my peers. I was convinced that football was my avenue to reach out for those dreams.
My parents often had different emotions about my ambition to try new things. My father would dream alongside of me; my mother kept my feet on the ground. She told me to focus on the things I could do; my dad, like me, thought I could do more if I just worked hard enough.
My mom is as close to my heart as anyone else, but her fear of my disappointment has always clashed with my stubborn belief that I can do anything. No one wants to see their child’s passions lead to emotional letdown. She tried to teach me to see the success in whatever I did, even when I failed. She is a great supporter, and I’ve always valued her advice, even when my enthusiasm for things like football meant that I didn’t always follow it.
I couldn’t have been more excited when I brought home a flyer from school about the upcoming football tryouts. The teacher who passed me the flyer?after I asked her for one?was surprised to see me so animated about it. She obviously didn’t see me as a football player.
My mother couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness when she saw the joy in my face, because she knew the likelihood of my making the team wasn’t great. My dad was out of town at the time and he wasn’t there to fan my dream. So my mother and I had a long conversation about my expectations and the possibility of failure.
She made it clear to me that the odds were I’d end up as a water boy for the team, on the sideline instead of the field. But she thought I’d have fun, make a lot of friends by being a part of the team, and make my own contribution to it. I agreed with everything she said, silently knowing that I ultimately wanted to be an important athlete on the team.
My mom is much more social and outgoing than I am or my father is. Rather than just show up, she called the coach to ask him if I could try out. She made it clear that I was very different from other kids he had coached, but she never implied that I couldn’t be a player. Neither my father nor I would have had the guts to call the coach in the first place, but my mother did it out of her love for me. And while telling the coach I was different, she never said I couldn’t do what would be asked of me.
The next day, she took me to the tryouts. Football wasn’t her favorite sport, but it didn’t matter. Even then, I appreciated that very few mothers would have taken a disabled son to try out for a football team full of able-bodied kids; she did it out of love for me, and I loved her for it.
We drove into the community’s park for the first time and saw all of the football and baseball fields. The park was full of kids using the batting cages and basketball courts. My mom pushed me along in my wheelchair. When we got close to the field, I jumped out and ran to where the kids were gathered to try out for the football team. I was relieved to see a lot of my friends from school were at the tryouts too. I asked some of my friends about what I should expect. They told me about the drills, and I saw no reason why I couldn’t excel at them. I was a kid, I was finally at the football tryouts, and it was time for me to do my thing. -be continued-